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Second Son
Blurb "Ever wondered what early experiences shaped Reacher’s explosive career as butt-kicker supreme, the one-man guided-missile battler for justice? In this original new story, Lee Child looks back on an incident in his hero Jack Reacher’s teenage years as the younger son of a tough career US Marine, on a faraway military base in the Pacific." Timeline Takes place in August 1974. Location Takes place in Okinawa, Japan and Paris, France. Plot Paris It is 1974. In Paris a 90-year-old man, the retired furniture restorer and World War I veteran Laurent Moutier, is unable to get out of bed and realises he is about to die. He faces stoically and unflinchingly the approach of death, mainly concerned about letting his daughter Josephine know. This takes some effort since she is married to an American military officer who is a member of US Marine Corps and she is constantly moving around the world with her husband on his different assignments. Her married name is Josephine Reacher; she is Jack Reacher's mother, and the dying Laurent Moutier is therefore his grandfather. Okinawa The story then moves to give a snapshot of the life of the 13-year-old Reacher and his family, having newly arrived at a military base in Okinawa. His father, Captain Stan Reacher, is to take command of a unit which would take part in an invasion of China, should the US get into war with that country. The bad news from Paris, prompting Josephine to immediately take the first plane there, is compounded by a string of various kinds of trouble hitting members of the family. Reacher and his 15-year-old brother Joe ran afoul of the neighbourhood bully, an earlier-arrived American boy who takes "a toll" of anyone going to swim in the sea. Reacher is not intimidated by him – but Helen, the girl from a neighbouring house to whom Reacher takes a liking, is terrified. Then, Joe is accused of stealing the text of entry examinations from the school where they are due to enroll, dimming his prospects in this school. And most seriously of all, the classified code book of the unit of Stan, the father, has gone astray. Unless it can be recovered swiftly, Stan's military career would be in jeopardy. In this multiple crisis, the young Reacher already displays both the sharp detective ability and the fighting prowess which will characterise him as a grown-up. Moreover, while just 13 years old, he displays enough self-confidence and force of personality to make a detail of grown-up military policemen follow through on the leads he offers them. Within a few hours, all problems are neatly tied up: the bully is sent to hospital with several broken ribs, his reign of terror at a definite end; Joe is completely cleared of the charge of cheating; and the missing code book is duly recovered, with Stan cleared of any responsibility for its having gone astray. Characters Laurent Moutier At age ninety, Laurent Moutier is dying of age related complications. He is assisted in notifying his family by his housekeeper and a retired English schoolteacher. Stan Reacher As the captain in charge, Stan Reacher comes under investigation for a missing code file. Josephine Reacher Josephine Reacher flies from Okinawa to Paris in order to be with her dying father. Joe Reacher Fifteen year old Joe Reacher is concerned about the aptitude test that the Reacher brothers are required to take. After a scuffle with a local bully, he is framed for stealing the test notes. Jack Reacher Thirteen year old Jack Reacher scuffles with the local bullies, makes friends with Helen, and neatly resolves the issues his family is facing. Helen Helen is thirteen or fourteenSecond Son, Chapter 10 and intimidated by the local bullies. Her father is responsible for the 'missing' code file, having taken it home to continue working on it, falling asleep and missing the morning check in. Bullies A collection of 'maybe two dozen' boys from American marine families. All boys. The leader is 'a thick-necked bruiser of about sixteen', noted to have a boil on his neck and noxious body odor.Second Son, Chapter 15 He scuffles with the Reacher boys, attempts to frame Joe for cheating by stealing and burning the test answer sheet and winds up in hospital after fighting Reacher. Trivia *Prior to Okinawa, Stan Reacher was posted in Guam for three months.Second Son, Chapter 2 *Reacher had met his grandfather three times previously. Second Son, Chapter 12 *Reacher tells Helen he's kissed two girls prior to her. Second Son, Chapter 15 *Josephine Reacher indicates they (possibly just her and Stan) have been posted in Okinawa previously. Second Son, Chapter 6 Reception Alternate Covers SecondSonUS.jpg|Second Son (US Cover) SecondSonUK.jpg|Second Son (UK Cover) References Category:Jack Reacher Novels